Cheap Printers

Budget general-purpose inkjet printers

Reviews indicate that sub-$100 printers generally require sacrifices in quality, speed and durability. Several reviewers also struggle with recommending inkjet printers that sell for $50 and under -- on ethical grounds. When a pair of replacement cartridges cost as much or more than the printer itself, then for all practical purposes, the printer is disposable. With disposed computer products already consuming too much space in landfills, no one wants to encourage the purchase of products that can exacerbate the problem.

HP makes one of the least expensive inkjet printers currently available, the Deskjet D1660 (*Est. $30). The glossy black unit is about as basic as a printer can get. It has no display or extra controls beyond a power button, and there's a single USB port in the back. The D1660 doesn't even have an output tray; sheets go in from a fold-down input tray in the front, and the printed pages are returned on top of the input stack. The D1660 has two ink cartridges, one black and one tricolor, and comes with basic software. On the plus side, with so few features, the D1660 is one of the smallest and lightest desktop printers available. It measures about 17 inches by 8 inches by 6 inches, and weighs less than 5 pounds. It has a 90-day limited warranty, while most printers get a full year. HP's phone support is available for a year after purchase.

This new budget printer only has one professional review so far. Simon Williams at TrustedReviews.com gives the D1660 a Recommended rating, saying it provides "good value for the money." Print speeds are nothing special. Williams cites about five pages per minute on normal quality. But black and white quality is "remarkably clean for an entry-level inkjet printer," and color prints are quite good too. Photo quality isn't as impressive but is still good in "best" print mode.

Williams points out that ink costs, though somewhat high, are competitive with other inks. User reviews on TrustedReviews.com and Amazon.com echo these concerns, with some consumers bemoaning the tricolor ink cartridge as wasteful by nature (when one color runs out, the whole cartridge must be replaced, even if the other color inks are still full). However, just as many seem perfectly happy with the D1660, fully aware of its no-frills appeal.

The HP Deskjet D2660 (*Est. $55) is a slightly older step up from the D1660, but it has the same footprint. It features five more pages of output capacity, added cancel and resume control buttons, and HP's Smart Web printer software. The D2660 also has a higher speed rating of 28 pages per minute of black and 21 pages per minute of color. Justin Yu at CNET calls it "a simple, headache-free printer for the home or office." While the D2660's output is far from the best, Yu confirms that the printer is fast. He says it beats out the now-discontinued, but well-reviewed Canon Pixma iP2600, but falls short of the pricier HP Officejet 6000. User reviews are mostly very positive, but some report issues such as faulty hardware and frequent paper jams. The Officejet D2660, like the D1660, comes with a 90-day warranty, and HP provides phone support for a year after purchase.

Among lower-cost printers, the Canon Pixma iP3000 series generally gets good reviews. The Canon Pixma iP3600 (*Est. $80) has seen little critical attention, but what is available is promising. Peter Piazza, About.com's guide to printers and scanners, finds the iP3600 generally very good. The iP3600 is the replacement for the Canon Pixma iP3500, which also received good reviews. Reviews of the iP3500 can be applied to the iP3600. CNET's Felisa Yang reviewed the previous iP3500 model and reports that text is clear and well formed even in small font sizes. Photo quality receives some criticism for a yellow tint and slight blurriness, but Yang says that the iP3500's prints are "good enough for general home use." User reviews of the iP3600 at Amazon.com are mostly positive, citing its great value for the price, easy set-up and quality prints.

Compared to the Canon Pixma iP4600 and iP4700, the iP3600 is missing duplex printing but is otherwise similar, and it uses the same ink system. Piazza says speeds are fine considering the price and the output is very good for both text and photos. Piazza wishes this printer (and the iP4600) were a little more compact -- both measure 17 inches by 11.7 inches. Again, replacing the ink cartridges is expensive at about $60 for the whole set of five inks.

The HP Deskjet D2545 (*Est. $55) is called a green printer by HP, meaning that its ink cartridges are made mainly of recycled plastic. It hasn't been reviewed extensively so far, but the D2545 is slow and produces middling-quality text and color prints, according to Macworld's Chris Holt. User reviews at Amazon.com cite issues with build quality.

The Lexmark Z2420 (*Est. $80) doesn't make a big impression on reviewers either. Justin Yu of CNET says that while text prints quicker than on some competing models, photos on the Z2420 are of markedly poor quality. He also notes a paper tray design that makes the machine prone to jams. Melissa Riofrio of PC World calls the Z2420 printer "mediocre," adding that it is fortunate this printer sports wireless capabilities to boost its flexibility, because "it needs all the help it can get."

We saw a couple of reviews for the inexpensive Epson Workforce 30 (*Est. $70). It's reviewed by About.com's Piazza, who judges it a good deal if you need a basic printer. Speeds are good and the photos turned out great, but Piazza says print quality on cheap paper wasn't as nice as it was on more expensive Epson-branded inkjet paper. The Workforce 30 uses four ink tanks. Replacing them all will cost about $50.